The Great Cotswold Outdoors

Plan Your Visit

Plan ahead for the spring. The English countryside is the place to be. Go for walks on wooded footpaths and head out on cycle paths with all the family. Stop at a pretty pub for lunch or browse outdoor foodie markets.

Cotswolds locations have been used in the recent TV dramas 'The Casual Vacancy','Wolf Hall' and 'Poldark'. Find out more about the locations.

Take a look at the 2015 Cotswolds Visitor Guide to help you plan your holiday. The Cotswolds official guide is full of useful information, including a calendar of events, as well as where to stay and what to see at the wonderful attractions in the area.

NEW Cotswolds Phone App

The Official Cotswolds Visitor Guide app is available to download on Android and from iTunes. The app gives you an interactive guide to The Cotswolds at the touch of a button. This comprehensive directory is an easy way to discover the best sights, attractions, events, accommodation, food, drink and shopping in the Cotswolds area. Find out more about the official Cotswolds phone app.

Cotswolds Photography Competition

Keen amateur photographers of all ages are being offered the opportunity to capture what they feel best sums up the beauty and uniqueness of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The competition has been launched to celebrate the forthcoming 50th anniversary of the AONB. Find out how to enter and about the great prizes up for grabs.

Rugby World Cup Comes to Gloucester

Gloucester is a host city for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The ground at Kingsholm will be home to four of the games. Base yourself in and around the Cotswolds or Gloucester to soak up some of the World Cup atmosphere.

The Great Cotswold Outdoors

This year we are celebrating the Great Cotswold Outdoors, with some brand new walking and cycling suggestions. Get out and about on your bike, with our new 7 Day Circular Cycling Tourof the Cotswolds and Severn Vale. The route has been split into daily routes and additional circulars from each of the six hub towns. Cycling is a wonderful way to see the stunning scenery and distinctive character of the Cotswolds. Head to the 7 Day Circular Cycling Tour page for more information.

Base yourself in one of 17 different towns or villages for a Walking Weekend in the Cotswolds. These itineraries are available to download from the Cotswolds Walking Weekends section.

MORE Than Just the View is a phrase that we’ve adopted to describe the Cotswolds, based on comments from our visitors who have been surprised by what’s on here beyond the expected offer of Cotswolds hotels and beautiful scenery. Lively cultural events, a year round season of sporting events and festivals – even the range of individual, quirky shops here – have all combined to encourage repeat visits by our visitors. Meanwhile we’re working hard to make sure that our Cotswolds website has all the info to help you discover MORE. Take a look at the 2015 Cotswolds Visitor Guide to help you plan your holiday.

Vintage and Modern Cotswolds

For lovers of the retro and vintage, the Cotswolds is a delight - full of experiences, inspiration and shops that you just can’t find anywhere else. To help you discover a new side of the Cotswolds we’ve put together four routes to lead you to places to visit, secret retro and vintage shopping and stylish places to stay - find out more.

Towns and Villages Guide

Use our towns & villages guide to discover your favourite spot – perhaps the Capital of the Cotswolds, Cirencester, or maybe Stow on the Wold to admire the views from its hill top location. Our smaller towns and villages have much to offer – The Slaughters, Broad Campden, Chalford, Bibury, Longborough and many, many more each have a unique character and we’d recommend spending a day or two exploring at your leisure.

Cotswold Inspiration

On the edge of the Cotswolds, the Regency town of Cheltenham offers award-winning gardens as well as an impressive range of stylish shops and restaurants, and a range of festivals, whilst nearby neighbour Gloucester will impress you with its fascinating history. Medieval Tewkesbury presents a range of beautiful buildings to explore and in the south of the region, Stroud holds one of the country's best Farmers' Markets. Both Montpellier in Cheltenham and Stroud have been named in The Times' countdown of the thirty coolest places to live, an indication of what incredible nuggets of beauty, style and culture the Cotswolds have to offer!

Our award-winning Cotswold accommodation is sure to impress you. It's wonderfully varied
- making the only problem choosing where to stay!

With hundreds of Cotswolds towns, villages and smaller settlements there is plenty of choice in accommodation style and location.
Our discover the area section includes a list of Cotswolds places ordered village by village.

Use this in combination with our maps and Cotswold accommodation finder and you should easily find something special. Check our 'Be Green' page to find out how to choose accommodation that limits its impact on the environment read more >>

Accommodation

With so many Cotswold attractions, we feel a little spoilt for choice...

Many attractions and things to do in the Cotswolds are suitable for both adults and children, so make the most of your family day out by using our itinerary builder on the right.

Use our Cotswolds attractions finder on the right to search for information on Cotswold gardens, outdoor attractions or heritage centres.

Read about our weird and wonderful museums that bring the Cotswolds history and heritage to life, or find out about some of the magnificent Cotswold houses like Blenheim Palace with it's royal connections and rich history read more >>

Attractions

Our Cotswolds events really are something to be proud of. You can find so much here, from chasing a Double Gloucester cheese down a hill, to a tiny village fete opened by an international celebrity. A little research into what's on while you're here will reveal an intriguing programme of year round events and festivals.

Sport is a big subject here, with top level sides such as Gloucestershire County Cricket, Gloucester Rugby Club and a string of equestrian activity that includes horse trials at Blenheim and Badminton and Cheltenham Racecourse. In addition the area is brought to life by hundreds of village events and happenings. Some are remarkable - only in the Cotswolds would you find Woolsack Racing, Shin Kicking and Cheese Rolling read more >>